Fulanis Risking It All

              Jeopardizing the Influence They Already Hold

Nuhu Ribadu and Nasir El Rufai Source: AI

During the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo (1999–2007), there were three cabinet members I greatly admired. They were Dorothy Akunyili, who headed NAFDAC; Nuhu Ribadu, who headed the EFCC; and Nasir El-Rufai, who served as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory. I admired them for their wisdom, courage, and strong sense of patriotism, qualities that helped them perform effectively in their roles.

I hoped they would continue to serve in government in various capacities. I particularly wished to see them become governors of their respective states. For El-Rufai, I believed he had the potential for even higher responsibilities. My wish for him was fulfilled when he became governor of Kaduna State. Ribadu made several attempts to become governor of Adamawa State but was unsuccessful. Akunyili later served as Minister of Information under President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua before her untimely death, which I deeply mourned.

Over time, however, some of El-Rufai’s actions as governor raised questions in my mind. The persistent security challenges in southern Kaduna, combined with his administration’s approach to appointments — which many viewed as exclusionary — led me to question how inclusive and equitable his leadership was. He maintained that appointments were based purely on merit. This claim was difficult to reconcile with the educational achievements and available talent in Southern Kaduna, which has historically performed well in education compared to the northern part of the state.

The escalation of violence in the southern part of the state further deepened my concerns. At the peak of the banditry problem, El-Rufai stated that the government had paid some bandits to leave Nigeria’s borders. Later, his comments about the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) remaining silent due to the exclusion of Christians from his government, and his suggestion that this approach could be applied more broadly, added to the perception of religious and ethnic bias.

Ribadu, after facing political challenges, was eventually appointed National Security Adviser. In this role, he described the Fulanis involved in security issues as “brothers” who could not simply be cut off, comparing them to a part of the body. He also mentioned that some had been released from detention. These statements raised questions about consistency in how security-related cases are handled across different ethnic groups.

Both El-Rufai and Ribadu are Fulanis who have built distinguished careers and are often seen as refined and cosmopolitan. Their respective positions on issues involving Fulani individuals involved in crime have led some observers, including myself, to perceive a pattern of ethnic sympathy. Given the serious nature of the offences — murder, kidnapping, arson, rape, and others — such perceptions contribute to growing concerns about ethnic favouritism in addressing national security challenges.

Historically, Fulani communities were generally well-regarded across Nigeria. However, the recent wave of violence linked to some Fulani groups has strained relationships. While Fulanis already occupy significant positions of influence in the country, the on-going conflicts risk undermining the acceptance and respect they previously enjoyed. In today’s world, maintaining absolute control over diverse groups is extremely difficult. If current tensions continue, Fulanis may ultimately lose more influence and social goodwill than they stand to gain.

 

From Farmers-Herders to Miners-Herders

Source: Seaarts

Towards the end of the third quarter of 2009, there was a problem in Wase Local Government Area of Plateau State. The administration of Jonah Jang, Governor of Plateau State at the time,   was evacuating some herdsmen who were immigrating to Plateau in large numbers.

In the previous couple of years, Plateau has recorded some of the most deadly conflicts that pitched native Plateau tribes on one hand and the settler Hausa-Fulani tribes on the other. The Jang administration, whose regime was marred by these conflicts, was afraid that immigration of these herdsmen, some of whom are said to have come from as far as Mali would only complicate matters.

Despite the effort of the Jang administration to move these herders back to where they came from, it did not work. The herders chose a strategy.  When they returned, it was deadly. Armed with some of the most deadly weapons, they would visit innocent native villages in the dark of nights and kill as much as they can. Whoever survives is compelled to move out, having no assurance that he will be protected in future. The climax was the death of two legislators, one a senator, the other a member of the Plateau State House of Assembly in 2012. This was the start of what was dubbed the Farmers-Herders Conflict.

The phrase wasn’t fair to the farmers. It suggested there was a conflict between the two sides, when actually the farmers were helpless and unarmed people who never knew where the herders were coming from let alone attempt to attack them in retaliation. It was a case of a lion and a gazelle, a case of a deadly bully and the weak.

The herders, seeing that nothing was done by the authorities to deter them, started casting their murderous nets to cover wider regions such that people who had argued in their support became their worst victims, as the killing fields broaden to include Benue, Kaduna, Zamfara  and Niger provinces.  In Plateau State alone, the attacks had displaced close to a hundred villages as at the year 2019.

They herders were initially interested in grazing lands. Now, they have become more daring and more ambitious, driving people away from villages that are rich in minerals, succour to the villagers who find themselves living arm and leg in contemporary Nigeria. In Zamfara and Niger States, the conflicts is said to be fuelled by gold deposits underneath the affected villages. In Plateau State, considered the nucleus of solid mineral mining in Nigeria, the story is the same. In Bokkos, Barkin Ladi, Wase, Kanam and Jos South, all of which are rich in a diversity of mineral deposits, the attackers wait until your mining shafts reach the depth of the targeted deposits before they launch attacks, displacing everyone and returning to scoop the deposits.

The attacks, rather than slowing down, are becoming more vigorous, accentuating the weaknesses or nonchalance of authorities. It has gone beyond just grazing farms to minerals and wealth at large. Everything gets messier.